Silence is Strength

7 minutes • Nov 9, 2025

The End Poverty In California (EPIC) political campaign was led by candidate Upton Sinclair during the state’s 1934 election for governor. It promised tax reform, public works programs and guaranteed pensions. There was already massive support for it, but Sinclair made a bold move out of fear of losing to his opponent Frank Merriam. He published a short book titled I, Governor of California, and How I Ended Poverty.

Sinclair wanted to leverage his communication skills as an author to persuade the public into voting for him. In the book he addressed his accomplishments as the governor of the state, a title he had not won yet. It was a hit and sold 150,000 copies in four months. Sinclair won the Democratic nomination and was on his way to winning the election. However, shortly after the book’s release, his interest in pursuing the position of governor declined. Carey McWilliams, Sinclair’s friend, wrote:

“Upton not only realized that he would be defeated but seemed somehow to have lost interest in the campaign. In that vivid imagination of his, he had already acted out the part of ‘I, Governor of California’…so why bother to enact it in real life?”.

This loss of interest — along with desperate attempts to stop him being elected — sunk the campaign. Sinclair no longer wanted to fight for the governance and yielded.

Our brains cannot distinguish between excessive visualization and real achievement. When we overshare an idea or strategy, we lose the motivation to see it through. Psychologists call this phenomenon mental completion. Today, sharing things online has become common, making us more susceptible to this.

The goals that have led to the most satisfaction in my life are ones I kept silent until they were completed. I never spoke to my family or friends and never posted about them online. This allowed me to focus on doing the work. In his book Ego is the Enemy Ryan Holiday says that “success requires a full 100 percent of our effort, and talk flitters part of that effort away before we can use it”.

A Psychological Argument

The late basketball star Kobe Bryant was a huge proponent of hard work. He didn’t imagine himself holding up championship trophies or besting his opponents on the court. Instead, he visualized himself waking up early for shooting drills and lifting weights at the gym until he was sweating profusely. He mentally rehearsed the work, not the outcome.

When you talk about your ideas, your mind’s eye hallucinates. The brain cannot distinguish between real world experiences and its imagination. It’s tricked into believing you have already achieved what you are describing and prematurely rewards you with a sense of accomplishment. But how do some people manage to maintain their motivation while visualizing their goals?

Visualization can be done in two ways: outcome simulation and process simulation. To compare these, UCLA researchers Shelly Taylor and Lian Pham conducted a study on college students. A week before an exam, students were split into groups. An outcome simulation group was asked to visualize getting an A on their exam and a process simulation group was asked to visualize studying for it. Both groups were also asked to prepare a study plan for the week ahead.

The process simulation group performed better on the exam and were able to follow their study plans closer than the outcome simulation group. The outcome simulation group ended up getting lower grades than they expected and overestimated the amount of time they would spend studying. The study illustrated that focusing on results will likely sabotage you. It’s more important to visualize the process rather than the product.

A Philosophical Argument

The notion of living a silent and private life has echoed throughout history. From past philosophers and theologians to today’s authors and athletes, people have realized that silence is a strength many believe to be a weakness. The Greek poet Hesiod says “a man’s best treasure is a thrifty tongue”.

Emily Gould, former Gawker blogger and author, secured a six-figure book publishing deal. However, she wasted the following months doing mundane tasks instead of writing her book. She tweeted, curated her feeds and re-blogged what others wrote. In her words, these were the “only creative things” she was doing. She justified her habits through the guise of building her brand. “Blogging was a creative act” she said, “even ‘curating’…was a creative act, if you squinted”.

Running a business, learning to draw or producing a film are all difficult pursuits that require dedication and effort. When faced with challenges, the easiest thing to do is talk, whether it’s online or in person. To some, complaining about their goals is a disease they cannot cure. It makes them feel like they’re progressing and also ushers sympathy from others. As Ryan Holiday says, “there is a side of us that wants to get as much public attention as we can get while doing the bare minimum”.

Sharing ideas can also make you a target of jealous, envious and nasty people. While the negativity of others can drain our motivation, praise can be just as damaging. The rhetorician Isocrates warns us to “abhor flatterers as you would deceivers; for both, if trusted, injure those who trust them”.

Be weary when you speak about your struggles. It can be healthy to vent, but you can easily slip into gloating about your matters. Look what I have to deal with. Look at how much work I have. Give me your sympathy so I may justify my efforts and abandon the cause.

This is not purely philosophical. People who lean towards silence and are comfortable working in solitude can have more impact than the ones who don’t. Business psychology expert and therapist Peter Shallard illustrates this when writing about his experience attending South by South West. He met many aspiring entrepreneurs, all of whom spoke vividly about their next big idea. However, he noticed that the people who delivered results acted differently:

“They play their cards close to their chest…Maybe they were just sick of having the same conversations over and over. Or maybe, they intuitively know that sharing their plans only creates mental faux-victories.”

A Personal Argument

Growing up I was fascinated with animated films. The ability to build a believable world from the materials of your imagination seemed like a superpower. I went looking for a tool that could grant me that, eventually finding Blender, a 3D modelling and animation tool. I used YouTube tutorials to learn some of the basics, but I was never able to fully grasp the concepts. The paint-by-number nature of my practice eroded my enthusiasm, and my interest dwindled until it went dormant at the end of middle school.

In high school, I revisited the hobby. This time, I was determined to sharpen my skills further. I went looking for a resource that could teach me more than the free tutorials on YouTube and found a website called CG Cookie. It was run by a small team of creatives who made professional courses on Blender. On my sixteenth birthday, I asked my parents if I could get a subscription, to which they agreed.

What followed was a three year streak of intense learning, practice and joy. My skills evolved with every project I worked on and each new course I took. I did not take my inexperience personally. Mistakes were a sign to practice a little more. Some artwork did not come out as expected, but still served as lessons for my future projects. By the time I had mastered the fundamentals, flow state was second nature whenever I sat down to do my work. I was in command of my creativity.

When I look back that time, I realize that I subconsciously stuck to several principles of mastery. One of the core pillars that supported my motivation was keeping my progress largely a secret. I did not share very much with my family and friends about my ongoing work. I had an Instagram account to post my completed art, but no intermediate artifacts were shown.

I intuitively understood that working in silence made me more productive. The secrecy meant I found immense joy in the process of creating my art, sometimes more than the final result. I woke up on the weekends and hurried to my computer, looking forward to continuing my work. The final outcome evaded my concern.

If Sinclair hadn’t released that book highlighting his future achievements, maybe he would’ve actually become the governor he saw himself as. Unfortunately, he became fulfilled with simply acting out the role in his mind.

Be weary of sharing real time updates on your social media timelines or when discussing your life with others. Do not substitute talk for work by commenting on every bit of news that hits your radar. Once the work has been completed, feel free to sweep the cutting room floor for scraps of your labor and use them to inspire others. Some of my favorite content is behind the scenes footage of people’s work because it reminds me that quality isn’t an accident. But to keep up the momentum requires the patience and humility to work in secret.